Dubai sees 30pc jump in FDI in 2011

Dubai, February 16, 2011

Dubai expects foreign direct investment to jump 30 per cent this year, helped by rising confidence as its debt problems ease and an influx of South American and Chinese companies, a senior official said yesterday.

"If we compare it to 2010, we could see a jump of 30 per cent of foreign direct investments (FDI) in Dubai," Fahad Al Gergawi, chief executive of the Foreign Investment Office (FIO), was quoted as saying in our sister publication, the Gulf Daily News. FIO is part of Dubai's Department of Economic Development, said.

Al Gergawi said he could not yet give a figure for FDI last year.

Latest available data from the central bank shows that in 2009 direct investment into the UAE as a whole plummeted to Dh14.7 billion ($4 billion) from Dh50.4 billion in 2008, as the region was hit by the global financial crisis. The data does not give a breakdown for Dubai.

According to A T Kearney's 2010 Foreign Direct Investment Confidence Index, the UAE is seen as the most attractive investment destination in the Middle East in the next three years and ranks 11th worldwide.

Dubai's economy is slowly coming back and investor confidence is improving as the state's debt problems are easing. The expected rise in foreign investment would help economic recovery and could reignite investment in the financial and infrastructure sectors this year.

"We see a trend of newcomer companies to Dubai from South America, especially Brazil and Chile, China, Korea, some from the US and Europe," Al Gergawi said. "We are overwhelmed with companies wanting to set up in Dubai, doing joint ventures, and dealing with local partners."

"They set up in Dubai to build their headquarters for the region. We are a service-based economy, there are a lot of multinationals, especially oil and gas companies putting their headquarters in Dubai."

Dubai accounts for 80 per cent of the UAE's non-oil trade.

Al Gergawi said the government was pooling information to establish a database that would give precise numbers on foreign companies present in Dubai and FDI flows.

"With figures we are a bit weak, but we are trying to develop with different authorities a figure for FDI only. But it will take us some time," he said.

He forecast economic growth of 3 per cent for Dubai this year, up from 0.5 per cent in 2010, according to an International Monetary Fund estimate, and a 0.9 per cent contraction in 2009.

Concerns about Dubai's debt of $115 billion have eased since state-owned group Dubai World reached a deal in September to restructure almost $25 billion of debt. – TradeArabia News Service